OTTAWA, June 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation announced the launch of its NEW eLearning program. This important resource will support schools in teaching 350,000 students across Canada, including 160,000 students in Ontario, in the ACT High School CPR and AED Program in each year. Its development was made possible with donations from Amgen Canada and Hydro One.
In response to meeting the needs of teachers, ACT created this eLearning resource for convenient instruction of the theory portion of the ACT High School CPR and AED Program. This includes the first three ‘Rs’: Risk factors for heart disease and stroke and the importance of a heart healthy lifestyle; how to Recognize the signs of a heart attack, stroke and other developing emergency; and how to React, including calling 911 quickly. It will introduce students to the fourth ‘R’ – Resuscitate, in preparation for hands-on CPR and AED skills training they will receive in school with their teachers.
“Together with our partners, we are making communities healthier. This new self-directed eLearning program helps young people engage and learn about leading a healthy lifestyle,” said Brian Heath, Vice President and General Manager, Amgen Canada. “They will become champions for health and science in their families and their communities.”
"Since 2000, our long-standing partnership with the ACT Foundation has successfully trained more than two million high school students in CPR and made a lasting difference,” said Lyla Garzouzi, Chief Safety Officer, Hydro One. "We’re proud to help the ACT Foundation adapt to the virtual environment and continue to provide students with critical life-saving skills to help build safe communities.”
The eLearning program will support the ACT Foundation’s goal of seeing every high school student across Canada graduate with the skills and knowledge to save lives.
“Our approach is to teach confidence. With this eLearning resource, students will be familiar with CPR before they get their hands on training in the classroom,” said Dr. Justin Maloney, National Medical Director and Chair, ACT Foundation.
“The program was very easy to navigate, and I could learn at my own pace, which really helped me thoroughly understand each module,” said Ottawa Catholic School Board high school student, who has just completed the eLearning program.
Designed for schools, “it is engaging, easy to follow and to work through at your own pace. It is set up in a way that teachers can guide students through each module successfully with ease, enabling them to learn and discover the key components of CPR,” said Jeff Boucher, Department Head of Physical Education and Athletic Director, St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School. “It’s a great educational resource with the most pertinent information highlighted, and the material organized neatly in the same manner as my lesson plans are designed.”
The modules are based on the established ACT High School CPR and AED Program and will support the 1,800 high schools across Canada where ACT has already set up the CPR and AED Program, having donated more than 50,000 mannequins and trained 7,000 teachers as Instructors. This was done with the support of ACT’s national health partners AstraZeneca Canada and Amgen Canada, and Ontario provincial partner Hydro One.
“Together with our partners, we are making communities healthier and safer,” said Sandra Clarke, the ACT Foundation’s Executive Director.
About The ACT Foundation
The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is the national charitable organization establishing free CPR and AED training in Canadian high schools. The program is built on ACT’s award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support, whereby ACT finds local partners who donate the mannequins and AED training units that schools need to deliver the program. High school teachers are trained to then teach lifesaving skills to their students as a regular part of the curriculum, reaching all youth prior to graduation.
The ACT High School CPR and AED Program is made possible with the support of its national health partners AstraZeneca Canada and Amgen Canada, and ACT’s Ontario provincial partner Hydro One.
Website: actfoundation.ca
Twitter: @actfoundation #ACT2Save
Facebook: @theactfoundation
Instagram: @actfoundation
YouTube: YouTube.com/theactfoundation
Contacts
| The ACT Foundation Cristiane Doherty Communications Manager Mobile: 613-799-9277 cdoherty@actfoundation.ca | Amgen Canada Natasha Bond Corporate Affairs Office: 905-285-3007 Mobile: 416-801-4459 natasha.bond@amgen.com | Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) 416-345-6868 |
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/97e9137b-b61b-4b44-b4d2-025d47b11c78